1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to communication systems, and in particular, to a gateway terminal system that allows a consumer to access the consumer's dedicated home phone and internet services from a remote location.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Typically, communication services that are purchased specifically for the home cannot be used outside the home when traveling. For example, if a consumer purchases the services for a home phone line from a carrier, the consumer does not have the ability to make a phone call using that specific phone line from outside the home. As a result, the consumer of such services would need to purchase additional phone services to use outside the home when he or she traveling. Once this additional service is purchased, it requires the consumer to have an additional phone number which in many cases is provided by a different phone company. Current technology has drastically reduced the cost of home phone lines, however the technology to have access to such services from the home has not kept pace with these services.
The same situation applies to home internet services. A consumer cannot access specific home internet services when traveling to a remote location without purchasing additional internet services or accessing free or other paid “wifi” hotspots, which may not always be readily available.
Thus, there remains a need to save on communication costs, as well as to consolidate such home phone and internet services so that a consumer can access these services from remote locations.